Description

Crushbone is the home of the Crushbone clan of orcs. It is located directly
to the north of the wood elf city of Kelethin, and is the major thorn
in the sides of all the inhabitants of the island of Faydwer. The city
is accessible from only one entrance, and is set up in the shape of a
ring. To the west side of Crushbone lies a small building where elves
and dwarves actually live, as well as the entrance to the slave pits.
The the northeast lies the home of Emporer Crush, and is a dangerous place
to hang out in as his troopers continuously move about. In the center
is a large hill where the orc trainer trains his troops. A river flows
around and through the area.

Dangers

This level is extremely dangerous, despite the fact that there are orc
pawns here, I would not recommend it for anyone under 4th level, and even
that is pushing it. It is dangerous for several reasons. The first reason
it is dangerous occurs when there are very few people around, the other
when there are too many people around.

The first danger occurs when there are few people around, and this is
that the orcs reclaim their area, slowly spreading out from the back areas
to the front by spawning in gradually further forwards areas. Once all
of the forward spawn sites are full, the patrols begin. These patrols
usually consist of a pair of fairly tough orc centurions who run from
one side, out to the entrance, and then back in and over to the other
side. There are usually two opposing troops that move in this way. After
them come the Legionnaire patrol, which consists of the Legionnaire and
two very high level orc centurions (around 9th or 10th) who walk the same
route. The only way I saw all of this is by hiding next to a tree and
watching them all go by, and it made me sweat.

The second problem occurs when there are too many people in the zone
(which is most of the time now). This generates a rapid spawn rate because
there is a rapid kill rate, and trains result. Now, trains around here
aren't the type of trains that occur in Blackburrow, for instance, which
consist of a dozen gnolls running around. The trains here consist of the
orcs that people tend to flee from, namely the Legionnaire and his centurions,
who are high level, or Emperor Crush himself and an oracle or two. Now,
these aren't huge trains, but they are very deadly as these troops are
very powerful and can take out a large number of midlevel troops before
being taken out themselves. The other problem with this is that they tend
to attack indiscriminately, so simply standing too closely could mean
that you get whacked, and people tend to not warn you that they are coming
with hell on their heels, so you can get caught unaware. Again, keep your
eyes peeled.

Benefits

Despite the great danger in this area, there are many good reasons to
hunt here. The first is the wealth that you can gather in a short time
here. As a 7th level by myself, I gathered 2 platinum in the time it took
me to go up less than one bubble. Most of the orcs here have some form
of cloth armor or weapon on them, all of which is worth money. Some of
the best weapons on the weaker orcs are Cracked Staffs, which you can
sell for over 1 platinum to a friendly merchant. There's no better feeling
than going home encumbered because you've got 3 or 4 of these in your
backpack.

Probably the biggest reason people hunt here is for the treasure trove
in unique items and quest items that can be found here. Some nice low-level
items come out of this dungeon exclusively. First of all, there is the
Shiny Brass Shield, a shield that sometimes appears on the Orc Trainer.
This is a nice shield that is relatively cheap to buy now, and should
be resting on everyone's arm if they can't use two weapons. Also, the
Legionnaire's have shoulderpads and bracers that are regularly on the
market for sale, as well as items that can be used to get one of the quest
items, the Screaming Mace. Some of the other items that have become staples
of this game are the Dwarven Ringmail Tunic, dropped by the Emperor himself,
and the Dragoon Dirk, a highly sought after low- to mid-level piercing
weapon, that drops off of our favorite newbie killer himself, D'vinn.

I personally greatly enjoyed hunting in Crushbone. The monsters came
in more manageable numbers and the number of other hunters wasn't as annoying
as it was just outside the gates. Also, they spawned closer together,
so there wasn't as much of a problem with roaming (by you) or camping
(by others). You can watch several spawn spots by yourself and make a
good profit and good exp quite quickly.

Travelling To and From
Crushbone

There is only one entrance to Crushbone, directly north from the city
of Kelethin. You can get to it by heading north from the northernmost
lift in Kelethin (it's the one furthest away from the other two) or by
following the path straight out. The entrance is ringed by two pyres,
so it's hard to miss. From Felwithe you can either follow the trail to
Kelethin and go north from there, or turn right directly out from the
main entrance and follow the border of the zone all the way to Crushbone.
Although the second method is more boring, it's also quicker and almost
impossible to get lost doing.